Kissimmee's new fire station will be `green'

The environmentally friendly building will cost $5 million and could be open in spring 2009.

August 16, 2007|By Mark Pino, Sentinel Staff Writer

Kissimmee is moving forward with plans to build a fire station that will be environmentally friendly.

City commissioners approved a $421,000 contract with Bentley Architects and Engineers last week, and about 10 percent of that will be used for "green" design at the new Station 11.

The station, which has a construction budget of about $5 million, could be open in spring 2009, officials said.

The station to be situated on Clyde Street will replace the structure behind City Hall that opened 40 years ago.

"We will design and build the best `green' building we can build within our budget," fire Chief Robert King said.

City officials would like the station built to "silver" certification levels, but they decided last week to save about $16,000 by not having an expert certify the building.

Under criteria set under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, a green building can achieve one of four levels. From lowest to highest, they are certified, silver, gold and platinum.

Each level requires a certain number of credits, which are earned by site planning, water and energy management, indoor air quality, design innovation and materials use.

Commissioners could approve the certification if the expense would be recovered by grants, City Manager Mark Durbin said.

The plan passed 4-1, with Commissioner Cheryl Grieb voting no because she wanted the city to get certification for the station, which will be its first "green" building.

"I felt that the $16,000 was worthwhile," she said. "I'm glad we're still going green, but if we're going to do it we should do it right."

The Toho Water Authority, the water provider in Kissimmee and much of Osceola County, is also planning to use environmentally friendly concepts for its headquarters to be built on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near the fire station.

The city planned to build the fire station at John Young Parkway and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. But residents opposed the location, and the city delayed construction until the current site was secured.

The city is negotiating a contract with Wharton-Smith, which will oversee the project. Design will begin when that agreement is settled.

The fire chief said he hopes to have the project ready to be bid by early next year at the latest.

When the new station is built, the current one will be demolished and the space converted to parking for City Hall.